HISTORY
More than 50 years championing grass roots sports
The Sunshine Coast Sports Federation was founded in 1968 and has proudly served the region’s sports community for 52 years. It has played an important and valued role in supporting grass roots sports and celebrating the achievements of local athletes on the world stage across all sports; abled and para.
The volunteer governed body has also played a role in supporting and recognising the efforts of administrators and volunteers and has been a valued conduit between local sport and various stakeholders, including government, sports bodies and the media.
The flagship of the organisation has been the delivery of the Sunshine Coast Sports Awards that has annually celebrated the achievements of athletes, clubs/teams, administrators and volunteers.
As the decades have past, sport in Australia has evolved substantially and our governance and development systems as a nation have become undoubtedly world class. As a result, government agencies and sport governing bodies are providing a higher degree of quality support and resourcing to the sport eco-system.
The other significant change that has occurred over time is the significant advancement in professional sports and the internationalisation of the sport competition landscape. These two evolutions within the sports industry has over time impacted the type of role the Federation can play in supporting sport at the grass roots, impacted the Sports Awards and engagement opportunities with the regions elite athletes and ultimately diluted the value proposition of the organisation.
Couple these trends with the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic through 2020 and into 2021 on all forms of sport; the current Committee found itself rightly posing the question as to what role, if any, the Federation could or should play in supporting Sunshine Coast sport into the future.
Through extensive consultation and consideration of the landscape, Eighty20 Partners recommendation to the Committee is that an independent, community sport minded, regional sports body can play an active and valued role in supporting Sunshine Coast grass roots sports.
Our five-year strategic plan articulates a roadmap for the core recommendations and in sets out the following targets for achievement by 2025.